Automotive: Toyota to kill heel-and-toe driving
Is it big brother or logical safety? Toyota is to fit a "brake over-ride" system to all new models starting with the 2011 model year. What will it do?
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The simple answer, according to Toyota, is that it will provide a fail-safe system to prevent accelerator surge when the brake pedal is pressed. It will do that by cutting the power to the engine when the driver brakes.
So, sporting drivers who use the heel-and-toe technique will no longer be able to do so.
Equally, those who use automatic transmissions and like to left-foot brake, will find that they cannot balance brake and throttle.
The good thing is that it will prevent accidents as drivers of automatics shoot off in the traffic-lights grand prix. The bad thing is that it will mean that drivers will not be able to balance brake and power in hill-starts.
For many drivers, then, it will be necessary to learn an entirely new style of driving.
For Toyota, however, it will mean that those who try these things and make a mess of them won't be able to blame the car.
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